Positions of selective leukocytapheresis in the medical therapy of ulcerative colitis

Figure 1 Study design and patient selection for selective leukocytapheresis with the Adacolumn (GMA) in patients with steroid refractory and steroid naïve ulcerative colitis. iv prednisolone (PSL) indicates intravenous PSL (60 mg/d); oral PSL (40-60 mg/d). The dose of 5-ASA was 1.5-2.25 g/d while the dose of SZ was 2-3 g/d. During GMA course, PSL was tapered or discontinued in patients who improved. As shown, 56 steroid refractory and 28 steroid naïve patients were randomly selected for GMA, and the rest were treated according to Figure 5.